Readying for 8K - Fiber Optic

Guest Blog: Ed Wenck, CEDIA

The home network is expanding — and rapidly.

“The data coming into the modern home is going to increase by leaps and bounds in the very near future,” says Eric Bodley of Future Ready Solutions, a Florida distributor of connectivity products. “Copper wire isn’t going to be a long-term solution. It’s time to start thinking about fiber optic cable.”

And what’s going to be demanding all of that data? The coming boom of 8K television displays, for one.
Even though viable 8K content has arrived (Japanese broadcaster NHK began 8K broadcasts late last year, with an eye toward delivering the 2020 Olympics in what they’ve come to call “Super H—Vision”), there are still challenges ahead, says Bodley.

“It’ll be tough to figure out how to transport it without it taking forever, because it's just so much data,” Bodley explains. But even though there’s not much content out there at present, “8K displays are going to make 4K look way better,” says Bodley.

“In fact, it'll let 4K really achieve its full promise, mainly because of pixel density.

“I believe 8K is four times the amount of pixels that we have on a 4K set, so the detailed sharpness that you’ll see on larger screens is going to take on a three-dimensional, holographic look that consumers are going to want.

“The question becomes, how are we going to prepare a future ready installation starting today on your new projects and retrofits?”

Bodley recommends swapping out some fiber for category cables to ensure that all one’s bases are covered: “I think it's easy to just take one category cable out and pull at least a two strand fiber, or if you really want to be future-ready, we have four strands of fiber so you have two for networking and one or two for AV. That would be an easy, not expensive way to hedge your bets on anything you're installing today.”

Learn More

Check out the CEDIA Podcast on 8K

About the Author

Ed Wenck is Content Director for CEDIA, which represents 3,700 member companies worldwide and serves more than 30,000 industry professionals that manufacture, design, and integrate goods and services for the connected home. Wenck is a journalist, broadcaster, and editor who has won multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Association of Alternative Newsmedia, and the Indiana Broadcasters Association.”

Photo: Ed Bodley holding terminator cable. Photo Credit: John Bennett